Ex-Prime Minister Alexander Stubb wins 1st Round of Finland’s Presidential Vote to Set Up a Runoff by Jarri Tanner
January 28, 2024
Introduction:
(Stars and Stripes) HELSINKI — Former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb won the first round of Finland’s presidential election Sunday and will face runner-up ex-Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in a runoff next month.
The vote largely centered on the Nordic nation’s new role as a NATO front-line country with Russia, and the security situation in Europe, particularly Russia’s assault on Ukraine.
With all the votes counted, Stubb led the first round with 27.2% of the votes, while Haavisto, Finland’s top diplomat in 2019-2023, took second place with 25.8%. Parliamentary Speaker Jussi Halla-aho came in third with 19%, followed by Bank of Finland governor Olli Rehn with 15.3%.
The first-round election result will be officially confirmed Tuesday. The result will push the race into a runoff on Feb. 11 between Stubb and Haavisto, because none of the candidates received more than half of the votes.
“Getting such a result together with the team is heartwarming. I am grateful and humbled by it,” Stubb told his supporters in an election party at a Helsinki restaurant, adding that he wasn’t planning major changes in his campaign for the second round of voting.
Finns vote for a new president who will guide policy for the new NATO member and neighbor of Russia
Updated 11:10 AM GMT, February 11, 2024
HELSINKI (AP) — Voters in Finland are choosing Sunday between two experienced politicians to be their next president, whose main task will be to steer the Nordic country’s foreign and security policy now that it is a member of NATO, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Former prime minister Alexander Stubb, 55, on the center right, and former foreign minister Pekka Haavisto, 65, from the green left, largely agree on Finland’s foreign policy and security priorities.
These include maintaining a hard line toward Moscow and Russia’s current leadership, strengthening security ties with Washington, and the need to help Ukraine both militarily and at a civilian level. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) border with Russia.
Unlike in most European countries, the president of Finland holds executive power in formulating foreign and security policy together with the government, especially concerning countries outside the European Union such as the United States, Russia and China.
The head of state also commands the military — particularly important in Europe’s current security environment and the changed geopolitical situation of Finland, which joined NATO in April 2023 in the aftermath of Russia’s attack on Ukraine a year earlier.
